Onkyo Releases the TX-SR608 A/V Receiver with HDMI 1.4 for 3D support
Onkyo releases the $599MSRP TX-SR608 A/V receiver with HDMI 1.4 for 3D support. The TX-SR608 supports two of the features found in the HDMI 1.4 feature set, those being the aforementioned 3D support, and the audio return channel. The audio return channel, as the name suggests, passes audio back from a TV's built in tuner to the receiver, making for an elegant, single cable solution.What else has Onkyo wrought for the new 608? It gains 10 watts from the 607, courtesy of a new amplifier section that harness the power of inverted triple stage Darlington output, and 192kHz/24-bit Burr-Brown PCM1690 DACs for better audio quality. The new receiver is now THX® Select2 Plus certified, whereas the outgoing TX-SR607 bore no such mark of THX approval.
For those of you with a PC that you want to connect to your AV system, yet are saddled with only a HD-15 VGA video connector, the new 608 welcomes you with open arms, as it has just such a video input for you to take advantage of. That's a real help if your TV has no such input, because it will be sent over the HDMI cable. All output can be scaled all the way to 1080p using the built-in Faroudja DCDi. The old unit only went as far as 1080i.
Onkyo has also upgraded the unit's GUI to a more 21st century appearance, with transparent overlays, cool icons, and color graphics. All in all Onkyo has made some satisfying upgrades, and kept the cost in check, meaning more value for you in your home theater.
